Malcolm, with the restlessness
of youth, seldom stayed many hours quiet in camp. He did not care
either for drinking or gambling; nor could he imitate the passive
tranquillity of the old soldiers, who were content to sleep away
the greater part of their time. He therefore spent many hours
every day in the city, where he speedily made many acquaintances.
In the city of Nuremberg time dragged as slowly as it did in the
camp. At ordinary times the centre of a quiet and busy trade, the
city was now cut off from the world. The shops were for the most part
closed; the artisans stood idle in the streets, and the townsfolk
had nought to do, save to gather in groups and discuss the times,
or to take occasional excursions beyond the gates into the camp
of their allies. The advances then of the young Scottish officer
were willingly responded to, and he soon became intimate in the
houses of all the principal citizens; and while the greater part
of his comrades spent their evenings in drinking and gambling, he
enjoyed the hours in conversation and music in the houses of the
citizens of Nuremberg.
The long inaction brought its moral consequences, and the troops
became demoralized and insubordinate from their enforced idleness.
Plundering and acts of violence became so common that Gustavus was
obliged to issue the most stringent ordinances to restore discipline;
and an officer and many men had to be executed before the spirit
of insubordination was quelled.
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